Asbestos removal finished at school

Marisa O’Neil

Workers completed asbestos removal at Harbor View Elementary School

last week, but parents remain anxious about their children’s safety.

Parents of 52 students pulled their children out of the school

during the removal until district officials agreed to stop work and

resume only after school hours. Two parents called the South Coast

Air Quality Management District to report their concerns, its

spokesperson Tina Cherry said.

“We did go out and inspect there,” Cherry said. “We didn’t find

anything that was unusual or in violation of our rules. The company

[performing the removal] is licensed and notified us before the work

was done.”

The Air Quality Management District has strict rules about

asbestos abatement, including at least a 10-day notification before

work begins. Air-quality samples taken by an outside agency indicate

that the levels of asbestos fibers released during the work were

within Environmental Protection Agency standards.

But parents still are questioning the procedures and worry that

their children’s health may have been put at risk.

Problems began when parents saw large openings in a tent meant to

seal off the work area last Monday, parent Maureen Armstrong said.

Work stopped but resumed once the holes were patched.

Air sample data logs from Ambient Environmental, Inc. show air

quality tests done Nov. 17 from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. were within

acceptable levels, but Armstrong said parents are still not

satisfied. She also worries that previous removal at the site

endangered children.

“Our big concern was all the breaches in the tent [last week],”

Armstrong said. “Our other concern is: Did they follow protocol the

first time and second time [workers removed asbestos] and how much

have our children have been exposed?”

Last week, Bonnie Martin, director for Measure A construction

project manager McCarthy Construction, said that all procedures were

followed “by letter of the law.”

Asbestos poses its greatest risk during the removal process. But

if proper procedures are followed, the procedure is safe, said

Michael T. Kleinman, a professor of community and environmental

medicine at UC Irvine.

Fibers from asbestos can cause lung cancer, usually after

continual exposure over many years, according to the EPA Web site.

Smaller amounts can cause respiratory problems.

The asbestos abatement was being done as part of the school’s

improvement under the $110-million Measure A bond.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].